After a lengthy time away from blogging it is time to bring Recreate Wrestling back! to kick it off I will be going through Dan Venus’s top 25 favorite wrestlers of all time. Take into consideration my fan hood started in 1991.
Honorable Mentions: Bam Bam Bigelow, Roddy Roddy Piper, Kane, JBL, Mr. Perfect, Chris Candido, John Cena, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, The Miz.
25. Ultimate Warrior
THE POWER OF THE WARRIOR! Say what you want about the Warrior as a kid he was the coolest thing going. From the moment he music hit everyone would get pumped up. He was one of the only wrestlers at the time who actually would run down to the ring. I have to admit being a fan of the Warrior you had to put up with a lot of disappointment. After 1991 he never really stayed anywhere too long. He had a lack luster return in both 1992 and 1996 to the World Wrestling Federation. He would then turn up and WCW in 1998 and I don’t have to remind anyone how bad that was.
24. Chris Benoit
The Rabid Wolverine. It was very hard for me to decide whether or not to put Benoit on the list. However the fact is Benoit was a wrestler who made me love it so much. First match I ever saw of him was against Eddie Guerrero on WCW Saturday night back in 1995. These two absolutely tore the house down on a show that usually was lack luster. It is a damn shame what happened and what we now know about concussions hopefully nothing like that ever happens again.
23. Rob Van Dam
THE WHOLE F’N SHOW! Van Dam exploded in ECW in the 90s and stole the show every chance he got. His battles with Jerry Lynn are stuff of legends. One of my favorite nights in Pro Wrestling is One Night Stand 2006 when Rob won the WWE Title. He deserving of it and the crowd had his back like nothing I have ever seen before or have seen since.
22. Randy Orton
The youngest World Champion of all time at just 24 has had a great WWE career. I know people have criticized where he has gone lately but from Legend Killer to Apex Predator Randy has done it all and has become a household name. There was a time where I wasn’t watching wrestling as much as I used to but Orton’s match with Mick Foley at Backlash 2004 pulled me right back in. I would love to see Orton with the strap again sometime soon.
21. The Rock
If I was writing this blog back in 2000 Rock would be in the top five. Besides Austin nobody was cooler than The Rock. Now I will always be a fan of him but I have really disliked his returns over the last two years. He just hasn’t been the same Rock that electrified in the 90s or the guy who came back in 2003 and cut epic heel promos. But the is no denying Rock makes my list.
20. Razor Ramon/ Scott Hall
Say hello to the bad guy. In 1994 and 1995 no wrestler was as cool as Razor Ramon from the moment his music hit I’d get pumped up. His ladder match with HBK was legendary and I have to admit as a 9 year old kid I was heavily cheering for Razor. He was able to reinvent himself in WCW with the NWO. Hall should be a guy on a lot of all time favorites list cause he was awesome in his time period he could talk and wrestle. I’m glad to hear how DDP is really helping him to get his life back together.
19. Shane Douglas
CUT THE F’N MUSIC!!! The matches in ECW got me to like it but Shane Douglas got me to love it. My friends and I in middle school used to do backyard wrestling videos and I had to take the name “The Franchise.” Douglas was a very good heel and it was never clear why he hated Ric Flair so much but I would love hearing him run Flair down. Shane Douglas should be considered an all time great but he was never able to really catch on in WWE and WCW. He was in WWE when they were obsessed with bad gimmicks and he was given Dean Douglas a sort of teacher gimmick. (Douglas went to school to be a teacher.) It a shame he never had the great run in WWE.
18. Buh Buh Ray Dudley/Bully Ray
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? He has to be one of the most underrated heels of all time. Bully is great at drawing heat and has been for a long time. My favorite moment of him has to be HeatWave 1999 holy crap the people of Dayton Ohio were going to kill the Dudley Boyz.
17. Sabu
The Homicidal Genocidal Suicidal Death Defying SABU!!! I could sit and watch Sabu matches all day long. This is a guy who did not care what happened to his body. He did pay dearly for this but he could make fans not believe what the had seen. As a wrestling fan I’m thankful I saw him in his prime because the guy was unreal.
16. Eddie Guerrero
I lie. I cheat. I steal. Eddie was great there is no denying it. In the beginning of his WCW career there was no doubt the guy could wrestle the question was could he talk and before he went to WWE it was clear Eddie was the total package. Look up the L.W.O.
The best Eddie moment for me had to be him feeling achieving a dream and winning the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar. It a shame Guerrero passed away in 2005 we can only imagine what else he could have done.
15. Edge
THE RATED R SUPERSTAR! Edge was great in every aspect of professional wrestling he could talk and wrestle amazing matches. When he needed to be baby face he did a great job. But when he was heel he became immortal. Edge was a guy you loved to hate and you would hate him so much you loved him. It truly sux how his career ended I would love to see him back with WWE in someway.
14. Sting
HE’S A MAN CALLED STING! MAN CALLED STING. I may get some crap for this but I loved surfer Sting way more than Crow Sting. He was an Ultimate Warrior who could wrestle a great match. He is one of the greatest baby faces ever. The only gripe I have with Sting is he could never really pull off being a heel.
13. Tommy Dreamer
HE’S HARDCORE! HE’S HARDCORE! THE INNOVATOR OF VIOLENCE! I have to say I truly loved ECW and miss it a lot. Tommy Dreamer was the heart and soul of ECW. One of my favorite ECW moments was Dreamer finally winning the title from Tazz and in typical Heyman style booking Justin Credible comes down and beats him right away. Kind of pissed me off. Dreamer would have his day as ECW Champion in the WWE version when he beat Swagger and Christian in a triple threat at Extreme Rules 2009. For me this was a great moment because Dreamer finally had his time to shine and it last more than a few minutes.
12. Hulk Hogan
WHATCU GONNA DO BROTHER! If you are a wrestling fan and say you don’t like Hulk Hogan you are probably lying. When you think of professional wrestling you think of Hogan. I remember being 7 years old watching Survivor Series 1991 and crying my eyes out when Hogan lost to Taker. He was a great great great baby face. Hogan unlike Sting was able to prove he could be a great heel as well and he did it with the NWO. Bash at the Beach 1996 will go down as one of the greatest moments in wrestling history.
11. Triple H
IT’S TIME TO PLAY THE GAME! When Triple H first debuted I have to admit I could have cared less for the Blue Blooded individual. As the years went on he proved how great he is not only in the ring but on the mic. HHH gets a lot of flack for marrying to bosses daughter which I believe is BS. I also have a special place for Triple H because we share the same home town. Can you guess what it is? Please don’t say Greenwich.
10. Kurt Angle
Oh it’s true it’s damn true. The only olympic gold medalist to win the TNA and WWE Championships. In late 1999 vignettes of Kurt Angle were on WWE television calling himself the first real athlete to come to the World Wrestling Federation. I remember thinking this guy is going to suck. Unfairly that was because when Mark Henry came to WWE he did suck. When Angle wrestled at Survivor Series 1999 and went heel right on the audience I realized he was something special. Angle has the ability to make you love and hate him but most of all the guy can put on a wrestling clinic. He may have stolen the ankle lock from Ken Shamrock but he came up with grapevining the leg. Genius. As much as I have come around on TNA and actually enjoy the product I would love to see angle have one last WWE run.
9. Macho Man Randy Savage
The cream will rise to the top. Randy Savage is what professional wrestling is a lot about. Macho Man was amazing from the way he talked to his matches in the ring. This guy was obsessed about his matches. I have read things by several wrestlers stating that Savage would go through every aspect of their match. He wanted perfection and the fans were winners because of this. My favorite Savage match was the retirement match with Warrior. He made the Warrior actually look Ultimate that night. I can’t take the WWE Hall of Fame completely serious until he is in it. Lanny Poffo wake up and let them put your brother in.
8. Nature Boy Ric Flair
Diamonds are forever and so is Ric Flair. I think this statement couldn’t be any more true. Flair has never really been able to walk away from the business. He could of sued Bischoff and WCW for a lot of money and choose to come back and wrestle instead. Ric Flair loves the fans and professional wrestling and there is no doubt about it. I have even found Flair entertaining in his later years that says something.
7. CM Punk
BEST IN THE WORLD!!!
If you currently watch WWE television I don’t have to explain how CM Punk is this far up on my all time list. He is the greatest to hit wrestling since the 90s. Ok Cena too. Week in and week out Punk is the most entertaining thing on Raw. Before his pipe bomb promo in 2011 Punk would barely make my list after that he has become so much more. Punk has shown that a great heel like himself can thrive in the PG era that isn’t easy to do. I was at WrestleMania 29 and every time the Undertake was cheered Punk fans were cheering right back.. When a crowd is split and you are facing the Undertaker at WM that says a lot.
6. Chris Jericho
WELCOME TO RAW IS JERICHO!! PLEASE WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP! Plain and simple Jericho is the man. He was kept down in WCW but was able to still break out of his shell there which led to his great lengthy career is WWE. One of my biggest mark at moments was when Jericho beat Triple H on Raw IN 2000 for the WWE Championship only to be stripped of the title. That was just awesome. Lets also not forget Jericho beat both The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the same night.
5. Bret “The HitMan” Hart
Best there is the best there was and the best there ever will be. Bret Hart owned the 90s in WWE. He made pink a very cool color. Bret Hart was great and theres no denying it. He could have a great match with pretty much anybody. The Excellence of Execution was just that. My favorite moment was of his career was WrestleMania 10 when he beat Yokozuna and all the baby faces from the back hosted him up on there shoulders. When you think of Bret Hart that is what you should remember.
4. The Undertaker
Rest In Peace. For his grey gloves to his purple gloves to the streak The Undertaker has been a very entertaining part of WWE for a long time. He is without a doubt an icon who has be able to stay a top WWE well into his late forties. His match with HBK at WrestleMania 25 was unbelievable and what made it better it was too guys whose prime should have left them years ago. My favorite Phenom moment had to be when he returned to take the fake Undertaker as a kid that was amazing.
3. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass! In the words of Vince McMahon Austin is the greatest superstar of all time. I honestly have to agree with that. Stone Cold made wrestling cool and fun again. The attitude era does not happen without Stone Cold Steve Austin. I wish his career could have gone longer theres no telling what Austin could have done. But everyone should thank him for putting professional wrestling back on the map.
2. Mick Foley
I don’t know if Foley is God but he’s pretty damn good. Mick did things that no normal human being could do. Falling of the Hell in a Cell will go down as one of the craziest things I have ever seen I still don’t believe he did that. Mick was just a damn crazy man who could do anything. I have to say he had the greatest moment of his career and I was there. I was in the Worcester Centrum the night Foley beat The Rock for the World Wrestling Federation Championship. Let me tell you its a night I never forgot and I was 14 years old. Mind you Raw was taped back then saw it was a Tuesday night. It was the greatest moment I have ever seen live and I’ve been to a WrestleMania.
1. The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels
The Showstopper. The Icon. The Main Event. Mr. WrestleMania. No one has done it better than HBK. No one. Michaels walks the walk and talks the talk. He doesn’t know how to have a bad match. He truly is the greatest professional wrestler that I’ve ever seen. HBK would more than likely always have the best match on any card. He just understood the business like no one else could. The four years he had off were great years for WWE could you imagine if Michaels was there too? My favorite HBK moment would probably be Iron Man match WrestleMania 12 but I could probably go on and on. The fact is HBK is my favorite all time.
This is my list what do you think? Hit me up on twitter @Recrewrestling
Dan Venus
